croucher summer courses
Climate Change and Marine Ecosystems
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30 Jun – 6 July 2019
Climate Change and Marine Ecosystems
This five-day summer course aims to provide students with a systematic and comprehensive overview of the impact of global climate change and the rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 on ocean ecosystems, with a particular focus on the three major impacts of ocean warming, ocean acidification and hypoxia.
Oceans play a vital role in the global
carbon cycle by acting as a sink for the increase in atmospheric CO2
from fossil fuel burning and other processes. Notably, the ‘biological pump’,
the suite of processes by which some of the carbon taken up by phytoplankton in
surface waters is transferred to and stored in the deep ocean, reduces
atmospheric CO2 by 200 ppm relative to what it would be with an
abiotic ocean.
Rising air and ocean temperatures due to the well-known ‘greenhouse effect’ produce a warmer and more-stratified upper ocean, which reduces nutrient mixing into the surface and the downward transport of oxygen to deeper water. Ocean acidification, caused by increasing CO2 and decreasing pH in surface layers, also has a profound effect on marine organisms, especially calcifiers (including algae, corals, and bivalves), and the integrity and function of marine ecosystems. All these climate change impacts have direct ramifications for the ocean’s functionality in making planet earth habitable and the economic value of ocean ecosystems.
Summer courses in this series have been taught every other year since 2013, generally with an emphasis on climate impacts on the structure and functioning of marine microbial communities. The 2019 course will focus on specific global change impacts -- warming, ocean acidification and subsurface oxygen depletion -- on marine ecosystems, particularly microbial food web dynamics. Participants can expect daily lectures, supplemented by workshops, tutorials, poster sessions, and demonstrations in the afternoon. With the small class size, special emphasis will be put on student-faculty interactions.
The course is limited to a maximum of 30 postgraduate or early career participants and will be conducted in English.
Director
Prof. Hongbin Liu (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HK, China)
Co-director and instructor
Prof. Michael Landry (University of California, San Diego, USA)
Instructors
Dr. Bingzhang Chen (University of Strathclyde, UK)
Prof. David Hutchins (University of Southern California, USA)
Prof. Susanne Menden-Deuer (University of Rhode Island, USA)
Prof. Michael Stukel (Florida State University, USA)
Applications through online system (https://apply.croucher.org.hk/rounds/summer%20course/climate-change-and-marine-ecosystems-2019/applying) must be received by 5 p.m. on 30 April.
A registration fee of HKD3000 will be charged upon successful application. Visa/Master card, cheque, wire transfer/TT and direct payment through Hang Seng Bank are accepted for the payment. Residential places in HKUST campus and meal coupons will be provided during the course period. Travel grants OR registration fee waivers are available for application upon the course director's approval. Please email marinesc@ust.hk for more details.
Course directors
Professor Hongbin Liu
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Co-director(s)
Professor Michael Landry
Distinguished Professor at The University of California, San Diego
About your speakers
Professor David Hutchins
Professor, University of Southern California
Dr Bingzhang Chen
University of Strathclyde
Professor Susanne Menden-Deuer
University of Rhode Island
Professor Michael Stukel
Florida State University
Professor Michael Landry
University of California, San Diego